First Week at Site: I’m a Celebrity!

I am incredibly lucky to have been placed in the Piura region where people are incredibly friendly and welcoming.  My new host dad actually shed tears when speaking about how fortunate he is to have a gringa coming to live with him for two years, and the municipality organized a ceremony for me with speeches and dances and songs and poetry – and very high expectations of the work I will be doing!

There are about 300 people living in my new little dusty town, consisting of one paved road about 10 blocks long and located in the middle of lush agricultural fields.  The cool, hazy mornings and hot afternoons under blazing sun reminds me of California – especially the coconut trees, mangos trees, corn, rice and cotton growing nearby and the hint of cool ocean breezes in the distance.

On my first day at site I woke up at 5am to loudspeaker announcements that a volunteer has come to town and there will be a ceremony to welcome her.  People lined up in the street with signs they had made to welcome me.  On my second day, I was actually paraded house to house while my host dad introduced me to everyone who came out of their houses to check out the new gringa in town.

The townspeople are so excited to have me here that I have just about attained celebrity status.  I can hardly walk down the street without people inviting me to lunch, inviting me to celebrate a baptism, giving me food grown on their farm, children wanting to play with me or teach them English, being curious about where I’m going and what I’m doing -- OR wanting to borrow money from me or receive gifts.  (Many poor Peruvians see a foreigner and expect handouts because of past experiences with foreign aid organizations).  Even when I’m at home, there is an almost constant stream of people coming to my host family’s home to greet me each evening after the workday is over.

It is absolutely wonderful to see so many people excited to have me working in their community – there was even a confrontation between two district council members over who would show me the outlying neighborhoods – but it is definitely daunting to think about the issues facing the community and how it won’t be possible for me to help everyone in need.

However, the residents of my district are better off than some other communities, given the level of services provided by the municipal government.  They have their trash picked up regularly, they have fairly consistent electricity throughout the day, they have filtered (but non-potable) water from 6-9am every day, there is a waste-water removal system, and they have a health clinic that provides free basic health care services.

While residents receive many free or low-cost services, it doesn´t mean life is easy here.  Just imagine what life would be like if you only had one working faucet in your home and the water runs in the morning for only 3 hours each day.  You would want to use water at other times of the day, right?  Then, you would need to save water in buckets or drums for later use (preferably in covered recepticles, so that you aren’t encouraging dengue-carrying mosquitos to reproduce), and you would need to transport the water to fill up buckets located in various parts of your home – most likely in the bathroom and the kitchen -- and repeat the process throughout the day as you use the water.  (I know what you are thinking: ¨How do you take a shower?¨  Let me introduce you to the phrase “bucket bath”).

Imagine trying to wash your hands with water from a bucket - - how would you do it?  Dip your dirty hands into the clean water?  That would make the rest of the water dirty.  Pour the water over your hands?  That would be super-awkward to do with a full bucket of water.  You could get a smaller cup, dip it into the clean water and pour it over your free hand.  How would you soap up your hands without getting soap in the clean water?  It’s kinda hard!

It is so sad to come across a lethargic 2 year-old knowing that they could be suffering from a parasite or bacteria due to poor hygiene.  Recently, there was a parasite testing day at the local health center and 40 kids were brought in by their moms to be tested.  Guess what the results were?  Over 90% of kids tested positive for parasites.  

Hopefully that gives you a sense of the challenges I’ll be facing when I teach people about proper handwashing and then go to people’s homes get exasperated when I find they aren’t doing it.  I have not seen anyone wash their hands properly yet, which makes me feel like I’m taking my life into my hands every time I eat food prepared by other people.  It’s like I’m living life on the edge!  (Or, at least my stomach is). ;-)